DOCSLIB.ORG

Political Overview

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Political Overview Political overview Kenneth Wiltshire 2003: Focus on leadership Leadership change was Leadership change was the key national focus in 2003, from the Australian the key national focus Head of State to the Australian Cricket Team. In the realm of politics in 2003 … There has there has never been a year when there has been so much leadership never been a year when turbulence. there has been so much Prime Minister John Howard made good his promise to address his leadership turbulence. future on his sixty-fourth birthday and decided to stay on, to the delight of his party and the consternation of heir-apparent, Treasurer Peter Costello. Howard had been under considerable pressure to remain, given the high standing he was enjoying, particularly in the marginal electorates, including those held by Labor. Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson flagged his probable retirement at the next election, owing to family pressures, producing calls from his party to reconsider and remain. The ALP witnessed the most spectacular leadership change with maverick Mark Latham finally replacing Simon Crean at the end of a year of instability in the party. Crean was perceived as being unable to dent the Government’s lead in the polls and convey the Labor message. The choice was between the seasoned former leader Kim Beazley and Mark Latham, the largely untested radical. This was considered by most analysts as signalling a change of policy The ALP witnessed direction and a risk-taking strategy by Labor. Latham only just beat Beazley the most spectacular for the position, thereby creating a further challenge to achieve unity in the leadership change with party between the factions, the unions, the Caucus and the party machine, maverick Mark Latham and between the ‘roosters’ and the ‘feather dusters’. finally replacing Simon Labor also experienced an interesting change of method of electing Crean at the end of a its party president, now to be chosen by all the rank and file of party year of instability in the membership. Former front bencher Carmen Lawrence is to be the new party. immediate president, but after that the position will be rotated to the other candidates who were successful. The relatively new leader of the Australian Democrats, Andrew Bartlett, temporarily stood down at the end of the 2003 Parliamentary session after committing an act of violence and abuse against a Senator in the Chamber. This capped off a bad year for the Democrats, who saw their ratings plummet in the polls. Former leader of her party, Pauline Hanson, was jailed for electoral fraud but later freed on appeal, causing a flurry of electoral analysis as to whether this would signal a resurgence of support for her, at the expense of which major party, and in national or state politics? However, by year’s end she had declined to indicate any likely arena for a reappearance. Even Bob Brown, the leader of the Greens, encountered controversy and his eviction when he staged a deliberate protest during the address by the United States’ President Bush to the Australian Parliament. The speculation was that the gesture would have increased support among the Greens’ constituency but would have alienated the mainstream electorate. The 34 WP_2004.indd 34 9/1/04 4:04:28 PM Political Overview 35 Greens had been enjoying rising support in the polls all year, largely at the In 2003 the Government expense of the declining fortunes of the Australian Democrats. was on strong ground The main leaders’ poll ratings at the end of 2003 are presented in with the electorate Table 2. on most international issues, especially TABLE 2: Satisfaction with the way the leader is doing the job security and anti- Per cent terrorism. When the John Howard Satisfied 54 Opposition managed Dissatisfied 35 to shift the focus to Uncommitted 11 domestic issues, Labor Simon Crean Satisfied 28 (November) Dissatisfied 53 enjoyed a popularity Uncommitted 19 boost, especially Mark Latham Satisfied 41 regarding health and (December) Dissatisfied 17 education. Uncommitted 42 Better Prime Minister November John Howard 56 Simon Crean 17 December John Howard 46 Mark Latham 31 Source: Newspoll The issues of 2003 International/domestic The year 2003 saw a repeat of the familiar pattern of recent times with a In both foreign and see-sawing of issues between international and domestic arenas. As in domestic policy the 2002, the Government was on strong ground with the electorate on most role of the Senate often international issues, especially security and anti-terrorism. When the became pivotal. Opposition managed to shift the focus to domestic issues, Labor enjoyed a popularity boost, especially regarding health and education. Whether because of the challenge from Labor, or as a result of the phenomenon of the middle year of their third term in government, when policy reappraisal often occurs, the Howard government introduced a number of changes to their own policies. These policy shifts were accompanied by a related, significant Cabinet reshuffle in October, the combination seeing the Government’s stocks rise slightly in the polls. Clearly the Howard government was endeavouring to position itself by the end of the year for the 2004 election. The Senate In both foreign and domestic policy the role of the Senate often became pivotal. Some bills were rejected outright and so became part of the stockpile for a possible double dissolution election. In other cases, the government was forced to do a number of deals on many of its legislative and regulatory initiatives to ensure their passage. These deals often resulted in significant compromise. Consequently, it was no surprise when the Prime Minister suggested changes to the power of the Australian Senate so as to make passage of government Bills smoother, primarily by way of joint sittings of the two Houses, without the need for recourse to any election. Labor WP_2004.indd 35 9/1/04 4:04:28 PM 36 Economic and Political Overview 2004 Towards the end of 2003 appeared to offer support in principle for reforms in this direction. They a discussion paper had were, however, fiercely opposed by the minor parties. Towards the end of been produced by the 2003 a discussion paper had been produced by the Government and a Task Government and a Task Force established to canvass such proposals that would require amendment Force established to of the Australian Constitution. canvass proposals for Senate reform. International relations It is of significance that international relations have continued to dominate the Australian political landscape for the past three years. Australia has been continuously fully engaged in a considerable number of diplomatic and economic, bilateral and multilateral arrangements, and the whole International relations posture of the nation has changed to that of an outward-looking society have continued to where global events impact immediately on the political psyche. No dominate the Australian more the isolationist nation with the occasional international foray, in the political landscape for Australia of today global politics is domestic politics. the past three years. The US alliance was at the centre of a great deal of Australia’s international relations in 2003. Australia remained a firm partner of the Coalition against terrorism with an active presence in Iraq. John Howard travelled to Texas as the guest of President Bush and returned the favour by inviting the US President to visit Australia after the APEC Conference in the latter half of the The US alliance was at year. The US alliance itself became something of a political issue during the the centre of a great year as many in the Opposition and minor parties criticised the closeness of deal of Australia’s the partnership and the familiar ring of concern among some Asian nations international relations in was aired from time to time. Labor appeared to have distanced itself from 2003. continuation of such a strong US alliance and by year’s end, under new leader Latham, was endeavouring to clarify its position. The proposed Free Trade Agreement with the United States also figured strongly in this dialogue, with the Government managing to secure President Bush’s imprimatur for an acceleration of the talks to achieve results by year’s end so that the Agreement could become a reality in 2004. A number The proposed Free of sticking points had appeared in the negotiations, especially regarding Trade Agreement with primary products. Another dominant issue was the very active efforts of the United States also the cultural lobby to have culture excluded from trade negotiations. These figured strongly. issues had their parallel in the failed WTO talks on the Doha Round. International security was again a dominant issue in 2003 as acts of terrorism continued around the world and the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East failed to show signs of fundamental improvement. This issue played out in a different manner when Australia led a major effort to restore law and order in the Solomons, and later in Papua New Guinea. At the Australia led a major South Pacific Forum the Prime Minister flagged the prospect of a permanent effort to restore law and presence of this kind, including training for law enforcers in Pacific order in the Solomons, countries, as one of a number of political and economic/industry initiatives and later in Papua New to strengthen Pacific solidarity. The Government was also worried about the Guinea. prospect of parts of the Pacific becoming an entry point for terrorists. The Pacific countries by and large welcomed these Australian interventions but the so-called Pacific solution for refugee placement and processing remained controversial. The appearance of another boatload of refugees off the northern coast prompted the now familiar pattern of response from both the Government and its detractors, with further attempts by the Government to excise parts of the northern coastline to avoid legal complications.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Australian Institute of International Affairs National Conference
    Australian Institute of International Affairs National Conference Australian Foreign Policy: Navigating the New International Disorder Monday 21 November 2016 Hotel Realm Canberra, National Circuit, Barton Arrival 8:30 – 9:00am Australian Foreign Policy 9:00am – 11:00am The Hon Julie Bishop MP (Invited) Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop is the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Australia's Federal Coalition Government. She is also the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and has served as the Member for Curtin since 1998. Minister Bishop was sworn in as Australia's first female Foreign Minister on 18 September 2013 following four years in the role of Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. She previously served as a Cabinet Minister in the Howard Government as Minister for Education, Science and Training and as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues. Prior to this, Minister Bishop was Minister for Ageing. Minister Bishop has also served on a number of parliamentary and policy committees including as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. Before entering Parliament Minister Bishop was a commercial litigation lawyer at Perth firm Clayton Utz, becoming a partner in 1985, and managing partner in 1994. The Hon Kim Beazley AC FAIIA AIIA National President Mr Beazley was elected to the Federal Parliament in 1980 and represented the electorates of Swan (1980-96) and Brand (1996- 2007). Mr Beazley was a Minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments (1983-96) holding, at various times, the portfolios of Defence, Finance, Transport and Communications, Employment Education and Training, Aviation, and Special Minister of State.
    [Show full text]
  • 01-Clune 2004 Fed Election
    Howard at the Crossroads? The October 2004 Federal Election David Clune ••• On 1 September 2001, PP McGuinness wrote that although John Howard’s electoral prospects at the beginning of that year had looked ‘extremely dismal’, he had opined that ‘You can never write Howard off until he is buried at the crossroads with a wooden stake through his heart’. 1 In the first half of 2004, many commentators seemed to have forgotten this fundamental tenet of Australian political science in their haste to proclaim the forthcoming defeat of Howard by new Opposition Leader Mark Latham. Alan Ramsey, for example, wrote in March: The circle is closing. In a bit under 100 days and after just four weeks of the Parliament sitting, Mark Latham’s leadership has collapsed John Howard’s political authority even more thoroughly than it has weakened his Government’s electoral dominance. The signs are everywhere, unmistakably. 2 The Labor Leadership On the night of the 2001 election, defeated Opposition Leader Kim Beazley announced his resignation from the position. It was largely a personal decision. Beazley’s situation was by no means untenable. He had fought a good campaign that had averted what appeared to be a looming landslide defeat for Labor. 3 In retrospect, his decision was a much more momentous one than it seemed at the time and was to cause Labor serious, ongoing problems. On 22 November, Deputy Leader Simon Crean was elected unopposed as Beazley’s replacement. It proved to be a disastrous choice. Crean’s public image was the . • Research Service New South Wales Parliamentary Library .
    [Show full text]
  • Juila Gillard, 45, Says the Problem for Women in Politics Is That There Is Not a Set Image of What a Woman Leader Should Look Like
    Juila Gillard, 45, says the problem for women in politics is that there is not a set image of what a woman leader should look like. Men, she says, simply get better-quality suits, shirts and ties. ‘Women have so many more options it’s easier to criticise,’ she says. ‘You have to take it with a grain of salt and a fair bit of good humour.’ in profi le JULIA GILLARD From hostel to HISTORY She’s one of our most senior female politicians and one day she could have the top job. But what’s she really like? JULIE McCROSSIN meets Julia Gillard f you want to get to know Julia Gillard There is no sign of that clipped, robotic the White House, where people rarely sleep and understand what drives her political voice that often appears in her sound-bites or go home, has a lot in common with her Ipassions, you have to know the story of on the news. If she gets the chance to talk a life in parliament. her Welsh immigrant family, especially that of bit longer, as she does these days in the chatty There’s not much spare space in her offi ce, her father, John. world of breakfast television with her regular meeting room and en-suite bathroom. The It’s been a long journey from the appearances on Nine’s Today show debating window offers a glimpse of a courtyard Pennington Migrant Hostel in Adelaide, the Liberal Party’s heavyweight Tony Abbott, with trees. Aboriginal art by Maggie Long where Gillard arrived in 1966 at age four with you hear a more natural voice.
    [Show full text]
  • Australia Is Awash with Political Memoir, but Only Some Will Survive the Flood
    Australia is awash with political memoir, but only some will survive the... https://theconversation.com/australia-is-awash-with-political-memoir-b... Academic rigour, journalistic flair September 9, 2015 8.51am AEST For publishers, Australian political memoir or biography is likely to pay its own way, at the very least. AAP Image/Lukas Coch September 9, 2015 8.51am AEST Last year more than a dozen political memoirs were published in Australia. From Bob Author Carr’s Diary of a Foreign Minister to Greg Combet’s The Fights of My Life, from Rob Oakeshott’s The Independent Member for Lyne to Bob Brown’s Optimism, one could be forgiven for thinking Australia is a nation of political junkies. Jane Messer Or that we’re fascinated by the personalities, policies and procedures that shape our Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, political landscape. But are we really, and if not, why so many books? Macquarie University The deluge shows no signs of abating, with a similar number of titles expected this year. Already we’ve seen the release of Shadow Minister Chris Bowen’s The Money Men, reflections by Federal Labor members Mark Butler and Andrew Leigh, with former Victorian Labor leader John Brumby’s practical “lessons”, The Long Haul, in press. Liberals, once laggards in this genre, are stepping up in growing numbers. Federal Minister Christopher Pyne’s “hilarious” A Letter To My Children is out, and Peter Reith’s The Reith Papers is underway. Also in press is the genuinely unauthorised Born to Rule: the Unauthorised Biography of Malcolm Turnbull.
    [Show full text]
  • The Vultures Will Be Hovering Again Soon Enough, As Bill Shorten Begins to Stumble Date September 21, 2015 - 5:58AM
    The vultures will be hovering again soon enough, as Bill Shorten begins to stumble Date September 21, 2015 - 5:58AM Paul Sheehan Sydney Morning Herald columnist Disability deserves its own ministry: Shorten Opposition leader Bill Shorten says he is disappointed Malcolm Turnbull's new ministry does not feature a minister for disability. Courtesy ABC News 24. It is only natural that the vultures will grow hungry again soon. They have become accustomed to kings becoming carrion. In the past 20 years Paul Keating, Kim Beazley, Simon Crean, Mark Latham, Beazley again, John Howard, Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Rudd again, and now Tony Abbott have all been felled, a procession of change, on average, every 20 months, for 20 years. It shows no sign of slowing. In this context, the Canning by-election could have been called the Cunning by- election. It gave a clear, vindicating victory for Malcolm Turnbull's brazen, lightning coup. So now the vultures will soon be hovering over the obvious loser, Bill Shorten, who made a serious blunder last week that puts him on carrion watch. Having hovered over Abbott for months, the vultures will be riding the political thermals and circling in the sky, watching for Shorten to falter. He just became much more vulnerable. He has never been popular in the opinion polls. He has rarely been impressive in parliament. He was especially unimpressive in the three sitting days leading up to the Canning by-election. On Tuesday, in his first question to the new Prime Minister, Shorten finished
    [Show full text]
  • Strategic Thought and Security Preoccupations in Australia Coral Bell
    1 Strategic Thought and Security Preoccupations in Australia Coral Bell This essay was previously published in the 40th anniversary edition. It is reprinted here in its near original format. The other authors in this volume have provided such authoritative accounts of the processes that led to the foundation, 40 years ago, of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), and its development since, that there is nothing that I can add on that score. Instead, this essay is devoted to exploring what might be called Australia’s strategic culture: the set of intellectual and political assumptions that led to our security anxieties and strategic dilemmas having been perceived and defined as they have been. There will also be some consideration of the outside influences on perceptions in Australia, and of such ‘side streams’ of thought as have run somewhat counter to the mainstream, but have been represented within SDSC. Long before Australians constituted themselves as a nation, they developed a strong sense of their potential insecurity, and the inkling of a strategy to cope with that problem. That strategy was what Australia’s most powerful and influential prime minister, Robert Menzies, was (much later) to call the cultivation of ‘great and powerful friends’. Initially that assumption was so automatic as hardly needing to be defined. Britain was the most powerful of the dominant players 1 A NatiONAL ASSeT in world politics for almost all the 19th century, and Australia was its colony. The ascendancy of the Royal Navy in the sea lines between them provided adequate protection, and Australia’s role was merely to provide expeditionary forces (starting with the Sudan War of 1885) for the campaigns in which they might be strategically useful.
    [Show full text]
  • From Constitutional Convention to Republic Referendum: a Guide to the Processes, the Issues and the Participants ISSN 1328-7478
    Department of the Parliamentary Library INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICES •~J..>t~)~.J&~l<~t~& Research Paper No. 25 1998-99 From Constitutional Convention to Republic Referendum: A Guide to the Processes, the Issues and the Participants ISSN 1328-7478 © Copyright Commonwealth ofAustralia 1999 Except to the exteot of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Department ofthe Parliamentary Library, other than by Senators and Members ofthe Australian Parliament in the course oftheir official duties. This paper has been prepared for general distribntion to Senators and Members ofthe Australian Parliament. While great care is taken to ensure that the paper is accurate and balanced,the paper is written using information publicly available at the time of production. The views expressed are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Information and Research Services (IRS). Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an official parliamentary or Australian govermnent document. IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents with Senators and Members and their staffbut not with members ofthe public. , ,. Published by the Department ofthe Parliamentary Library, 1999 INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICES , Research Paper No. 25 1998-99 From Constitutional Convention to Republic Referendum: A Guide to the Processes, the Issues and the Participants Professor John Warhurst Consultant, Politics and Public Administration Group , 29 June 1999 Acknowledgments This is to acknowledge the considerable help that I was given in producing this paper.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Heat Treatment This Is a List of Greenhouse Gas Emitting
    Heat treatment This is a list of greenhouse gas emitting companies and peak industry bodies and the firms they employ to lobby government. It is based on data from the federal and state lobbying registers.* Client Industry Lobby Company AGL Energy Oil and Gas Enhance Corporate Lobbyists registered with Enhance Lobbyist Background Limited Pty Ltd Corporate Pty Ltd* James (Jim) Peter Elder Former Labor Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development and Trade (Queensland) Kirsten Wishart - Michael Todd Former adviser to Queensland Premier Peter Beattie Mike Smith Policy adviser to the Queensland Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, LHMU industrial officer, state secretary to the NT Labor party. Nicholas James Park Former staffer to Federal Coalition MPs and Senators in the portfolios of: Energy and Resources, Land and Property Development, IT and Telecommunications, Gaming and Tourism. Samuel Sydney Doumany Former Queensland Liberal Attorney General and Minister for Justice Terence John Kempnich Former political adviser in the Queensland Labor and ACT Governments AGL Energy Oil and Gas Government Relations Lobbyists registered with Government Lobbyist Background Limited Australia advisory Pty Relations Australia advisory Pty Ltd* Ltd Damian Francis O’Connor Former assistant General Secretary within the NSW Australian Labor Party Elizabeth Waterland Ian Armstrong - Jacqueline Pace - * All lobbyists registered with individual firms do not necessarily work for all of that firm’s clients. Lobby lists are updated regularly. This
    [Show full text]
  • The Foreign Minister Who Never Was
    The foreign minister who never was BY:DENNIS SHANAHAN, POLITICAL EDITOR The Australian March 02, 2012 12:00AM Cartoon by Peter Nicholson. Source: The Australian JULIA Gillard's ability to turn good news - a brilliant political strategy, a poignant moment, or an opportunity to become strong, credible and assertive - into bad news and dumb politics appears to be boundless. And, when the Prime Minister has a brain snap, makes an error of judgment or gets into trouble for a reflexive and ill-considered denial the finger is pointed towards staff, speech writers, the hate media, Tony Abbott, or most of all, Kevin Rudd. The mistakes she's admitted are those where she neglected to publicly apportion blame to Rudd as a dysfunctional, pathological leader, and this being the reason for her taking over as prime minister in June 2010. On Monday morning, after three politically debilitating months of unforced errors, media disasters and a destabilising campaign to gather support for a Rudd leadership challenge, Gillard was finally in the clear. After a brilliant political strategy to force Rudd's hand early, at least two weeks before he was prepared to go, Gillard was able to crush him in the Labor caucus ballot 71 to 31 votes. Although there was a strong element of voting against Rudd rather than for Gillard in the ballot, it saw off Rudd's chances for this parliamentary term at least and gave Labor a chance to regather its thoughts and try to redeem a seemingly hopeless position. Gillard set out her intentions, addressing the public: "I can assure you that this political drama is over and now you are back at centre stage where you should properly be and you will be the focus of all of our efforts." On the issue of reshuffling her ministry and whether she would be punishing Rudd supporters, Gillard declared: "My focus will be on having a team based on merit and the ability to take the fight up on behalf of Labor to our conservative opponents.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparing the Dynamics of Party Leadership Survival in Britain and Australia: Brown, Rudd and Gillard
    This is a repository copy of Comparing the dynamics of party leadership survival in Britain and Australia: Brown, Rudd and Gillard. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/82697/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Heppell, T and Bennister, M (2015) Comparing the dynamics of party leadership survival in Britain and Australia: Brown, Rudd and Gillard. Government and Opposition, FirstV. 1 - 26. ISSN 1477-7053 https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2014.31 Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version - refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher’s website. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Comparing the Dynamics of Party Leadership Survival in Britain and Australia: Brown, Rudd and Gillard Abstract This article examines the interaction between the respective party structures of the Australian Labor Party and the British Labour Party as a means of assessing the strategic options facing aspiring challengers for the party leadership.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia, Research Report, Canberra
    Economic Implications Productivity of an Ageing Commission Australia Research Report 24 March 2005 January 2003 Commonwealth of Australia 2005 ISBN 1 74037 173 9 This work is subject to copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, the work may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgment of the source. Reproduction for commercial use or sale requires prior written permission from the Attorney-General’s Department. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney-General’s Department, Robert Garran Offices, National Circuit, Canberra ACT 2600. This publication is available in hard copy or PDF format from the Productivity Commission website at www.pc.gov.au. If you require part or all of this publication in a different format, please contact Media and Publications (see below). Publications Inquiries: Media and Publications Productivity Commission Locked Bag 2 Collins Street East Melbourne VIC 8003 Tel: (03) 9653 2244 Fax: (03) 9653 2303 Email: [email protected] General Inquiries: Tel: (03) 9653 2100 or (02) 6240 3200 An appropriate citation for this paper is: Productivity Commission 2005, Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia, Research Report, Canberra. The Productivity Commission The Productivity Commission, an independent agency, is the Australian Government’s principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy and regulation. It conducts public inquiries and research into a broad range of economic and social issues affecting the welfare of Australians. The Commission’s independence is underpinned by an Act of Parliament.
    [Show full text]
  • Trends in Australian Political Opinion Results from the Australian Election Study 1987– 2019
    Trends in Australian Political Opinion Results from the Australian Election Study 1987– 2019 Sarah Cameron & Ian McAllister School of Politics & International Relations ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences australianelectionstudy.org Trends in Australian Political Opinion Results from the Australian Election Study 1987– 2019 Sarah Cameron Ian McAllister December, 2019 Sarah Cameron School of Social and Political Sciences The University of Sydney E [email protected] Ian McAllister School of Politics and International Relations The Australian National University E [email protected] Contents Introduction 5 The election campaign 7 Voting and partisanship 17 Election issues 31 The economy 51 Politics and political parties 71 The left-right dimension 81 The political leaders 85 Democracy and institutions 97 Trade unions, business and wealth 107 Social issues 115 Defence and foreign affairs 129 References 143 Appendix: Methodology 147 Introduction The Liberal-National Coalition The results also highlight how In 2019 two further surveys are win in the 2019 Australian federal voter attitudes contributed available to complement the election came as a surprise to the to the election result. Factors AES. The first is Module 5 of the nation. The media and the polls advantaging the Coalition in the Comparative Study of Electoral australianelectionstudy.org had provided a consistent narrative 2019 election include: the focus Systems project (www.cses. in the lead up to election day that on economic issues (p. 32), an org). This survey used the Social > Access complete data files and Labor was headed for victory. area in which the Coalition has Research Centre’s ‘Life in Australia’ documentation to conduct your When we have unexpected election a strong advantage over Labor panel and was fielded just after the own analysis results, how do we make sense of (p.
    [Show full text]